What’s the Story?
Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir has said that he felt like a 70-year-old, during the late finish against the Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) in the Eliminator at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
“I was born in October 1981. By that count I am 35 years of age. But I can assure you that after the stress and the tension that I went through during the Sunrisers Hyderabad game, I feel like a worn out 70-year old. Till around 9.30 pm, I felt as if I owned half the planet and the ownership papers of the other half were being prepared. Then rain pelted my planet and washed away all my dreams. Almost,” Gambhir wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times.
In case you didn’t know....
Towards the end of the SRH batting performance, the heavens began to open up and what felt like a passing shower at the start, took almost four hours to relent, after which KKR was set a target of 48 runs to chase in 6 overs.
After a stuttering start, the two-time champions reached the mark in the last over with Gambhir steadying the ship and along with Ishank Jaggi, taking his side home, in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
The heart of the matter
The 35-year-old went on to praise the drainage facility at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, stating that if Karnataka had a reason to feel proud about something after the Mysore dosa, it was this and added that had it been any other ground, the game would have been abandoned and the SRH would have progressed.
He further added that he felt bad for the David Warner-led side and wished someone would take note of such scenarios and finds an alternate plan to deal with them.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017: KKR Eliminator hero Nathan Coulter-Nile not amused by cut-off rule
What’s next?
With that win against SRH, KKR will play the Mumbai Indians in the 2nd Qualifier on Friday at the same venue, the winner of which will face the Rising Pune Supergiant at Hyderabad on Sunday.
Author’s take
One can understand what Gambhir went through when the rain was having it says on the game. Had the match been called off, it would have meant that defending champions would have progressed since they were placed higher on the table after the end of the Group Stage.
But much to their relief, the exceptional drainage facility of the Chinnaswamy did its work and the game found a winner, in the manner it should through an even contest between bat and ball.
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